Hyperattenuating cerebral metastases on CT can be due to hemorrhage, calcium, or highly cellular tumors.
Differential diagnosis
There is overlap between the entities, with some cerebral metastases appearing in more than one list 1-6:
-
hemorrhagic cerebral metastases (mnemonic)
- malignant melanoma (can also be hyperdense when non-hemorrhagic due to melanin)
- choriocarcinoma
- colon cancer
- renal cell cancer
- thyroid cancer
-
calcified cerebral metastases
- breast cancer
- lung cancer
- gastrointestinal tract cancer, e.g. mucinous adenocarcinomas
- sarcomas, e.g. osteosarcoma
- post treatment, e.g. lymphoma, breast cancer
- highly cellular cerebral metastases (i.e. non-hemorrhagic, non-calcified)
- lymphoma
- leukemia
- small cell lung cancer